Hargreaves looks set for United return

February 3, 2010

Finally, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for Owen Hargreaves. The Manchester United midfielder has been recovering from various knee injuries for almost one and a half year now and should’ve been fit for a while.

At last, his return looks to be in sight: the Mancunian aims for a comeback against Milan, later this month.

Sir Alex Ferguson hopes Hargreaves will be available to him for the first time in seventeen months.

“But we won’t rush him,” insisted Ferguson. “We are being patient with the rehabilitation following his knee operations and he is alternating his training with the reserve and first-team squads, working for two days and then resting a day.

“It’s a matter of him regaining his confidence and, when he is able to train every day, that will be the moment for him to return to match play.”

Hargreaves has gone through a hard time the last months. The former Bayern Munchen man played his last league match on September 21, 2008 against Chelsea. After that he was troubled by various knee problems and he received surgery on both knees in December 2008 and January 2009.

Several setbacks have lengthened the recovery time.

Tags: Bayern, bayern münchen, both knees, CHELSEA, Ferguson, half year, hard time, knee injuries, knee operations, knee problems, light at the end of the tunnel, Manchester, manchester united, mancunian, match, midfielder, Milan, owen hargreaves, recovery time, setbacks, sir alex ferguson, t rush

Van der Sar, Ferdinand give Fergie fitness boost

January 15, 2010

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been given a twin defensive boost with the imminent returns of Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand.

Ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match against Burnley at Old Trafford, Ferguson has revealed that two of his defensive pillars are on the verge of getting back into his plans after recent absences.

Ferdinand has not played for United since the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on October 25 after suffering a recurrence of a back complaint that has caused shooting pains in his calf muscles, while van der Sar has been on compassionate leave following his recovery from a knee injury.

The Dutchman’s wife, Annemarie, had a brain haemorrhage before Christmas that required drastic and serious hospital treatment which prompted Ferguson to grant him indefinite compassionate leave but the 39-year-old is now ready to return.

And in further good news for Ferguson, Owen Hargreaves is also edging his way towards a first United start in 16 months as his recovery from severe tendonitis appears to be progressing nicely.

Ferguson took his squad to Qatar last week to escape the Arctic conditions in England and is confident that the warm weather training has aided his side?s preparation for this weekend.

“We have some light at the end of the tunnel during the week with Edwin van der Sar coming back to training,” Ferguson said on Friday.

“He’s done very well, he’s obviously been out for a few weeks with a personal situation but it’s great to see him back and that experience when he finally does come in will be important to us.

“We took Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves with us (on the training camp to Qatar) and both took part in some of the work we were doing and there was good light in the end of the tunnel there, particularly with Rio – he is making good progress now.”

Ferguson’s injury concerns are not completely over though as he revealed that United are still having to closely monitor the progress of striker Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian has been struggling with a knee injury for the last month which is restricting his flexibility and movement on the field, but he has told Ferguson he does not want to miss any of United?’s season and will put off a thorough examination until the end of the year.

“He wants to play through it, he doesn’t want an operation,” Ferguson added.

“The advice was to have an exploratory operation but sometimes he feels it and sometimes he doesn’t.

“He didn’t feel it in the warmer climate so he trained every day so it is something you want to keep your eye on – it’ a difficult one.”

Burnley appointed Brian Laws on Wednesday to replace the Bolton-bound Owen Coyle as their new manager.

Laws is set for a daunting first game in charge against the Premier League champions away from home. But, although Ferguson believes Burnley are in for a tough second half of the season, he thinks Laws can help the Clarets climb the table.

“Brian has experience, he has been at and Sheffield Wednesday and experience is what they need at the moment,” Ferguson said.

“I think they have to react quickly because they are at the stage of the season.

“When you are in that bottom half of the league, the second half of the season is never easy and they will be battling to avoid relegation obviously and that is not easy for them.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

Tags: annemarie, Arctic, arctic conditions, brain haemorrhage, Brian, Brian Laws, calf muscles, Edwin van der, edwin van der sar, England, Ferdinand, Ferguson, first united, injury concerns, knee injury, Laws, light at the end of the tunnel, Liverpool, Manchester, manchester england, old trafford, Owen Coyle, owen hargreaves, personal situation, premier league, Qatar, Rio, rio ferdinand, Sar, Sheffield, sir alex ferguson, Van der, van der sar, warm weather, weather training

Bendtner close to Arsenal return

January 5, 2010

Nicklas Bendtner finally sees light at the end of the tunnel. The Danish striker, who has been sidelined for two months, is due to make an early return to training on Tuesday.

Bendtner has been out since limping off against Tottenham Hotspur at the end of October and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger predicted that Bendtner would be unavailable until February after the Denmark international underwent groin surgery in November. However, the 21-year-old forward himself has other thoughts on his recovery.

“I will start training with the ball on Tuesday and then finally I can see an end to this nightmare,” Bendtner told Sporten.dk “I hope to be able to make my comeback against Bolton on January 17th, the day after my birthday.

“That would be the best gift I could give myself. At least it is my personal goal, so now we will see.”

Tags: arsenal, Arsene, Bolton, comeback, denmark, denmark international, dk, gift, groin, Hotspur, January, light at the end of the tunnel, Nicklas Bendtner, nightmare, November, personal goal, striker, tottenham, training

Forget Man Utd, concentrate on Atletico: Ancelotti

November 3, 2009

Carlo Ancelotti promised his Chelsea side would focus entirely on trying to qualify for the Champions League knockout phase with a Group D win over Atletico Madrid Tuesday despite a clash with Manchester United on the horizon.

Chelsea lead Manchester United by two points at the top of the English Premier League ahead of Sunday’s crunch clash at Stamford Bridge but Ancelotti insists that for now the priority is Europe.

Chelsea have a perfect record having won all three of their Champions League matches without conceding a goal and victory over Atletico would book their place in the next round.

“Usually all the people think about the game against Manchester United but we have another important game (against Atletico Madrid) during the week and we want to prepare well,” said Ancelotti.

“It is very easy to prepare for Manchester United because it is a very important match but we need to maintain concentration in the Champions League at this moment.”

Chelsea crushed Bolton Wanderers 4-0 ahead of their trip to the Vicente Calderon where they will face an Atletico side that have failed to win in this season’s Champions League and have not even scored a goal.

Atletico lie third from bottom of their domestic league with one win from nine and know that they have to beat Chelsea, who thrashed them 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, to have any chance of sneaking into the knockout phase for the second successive season.

New coach Quique Sanchez Flores started with a 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao and now has a real baptism of fire against Chelsea and then a derby against Real Madrid.

“They are two tough games (against Chelsea and Real Madrid) coming up and everything looks bleak at the moment,” admitted Flores. “We just need a win to get up and running and then there will be light at the end of the tunnel.”

Flores knows all about Chelsea having faced them in the 2007 Champions League quarter-final when he was in charge of Valencia with Jose Mourinho?s Chelsea triumphing 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a dramatic Michael Essien winner.

Atletico?s main problem is their leaky defence which is the worst in the Spanish top-flight, shipping 19 goals in nine games.

“We need to defend as a whole team not just four or five players,” said Czech defender Tomasz Ujfalusi.

Ominously for Atletico Chelsea’s lethal strike force of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka are on top of their game wreaking havoc at home and abroad with England international Frank Lampard singing their praises.

“Nico (Anelka) has been fantastic all season. Along with Didier they are a great partnership,” said Lampard. “He (Anelka) has tremendous pace and balance, particularly when he runs at defenders.

“Didier (Drogba) is neck and neck with Fernando Torres in the goals chart, but for me he is the best in the world because of his all-round game.”

Atletico’s Argentine forward Sergio “Kun” Aguero was linked with Chelsea in the past and has a chance to measure himself against the likes of Drogba and Anelka.

“We want rivals to say: man, it’s difficult to play against Atletico Madrid,” said Aguero.

As it stands that is far from the case with Atletico looking a soft touch while Chelsea are looking the part under Ancelotti.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: Argentine, athletic bilbao, atletico madrid, baptism of fire, Bilbao, bolton wanderers, carlo ancelotti, champions league, CHELSEA, clash, concentration, crunch, England, English Premier League, Fernando Torres, frank lampard, horizon, Jose, jose mourinho, knockout, light at the end of the tunnel, MADRID, manchester united, match, Michael Essien, Nico, Nicolas Anelka, premier league, Quique Sanchez, quique sanchez flores, Real, real madrid, Sergio, stamford bridge, Valencia, Vicente Calderon

Spurs boss sees brighter future for Bentley

October 28, 2009

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is optimistic that misfit midfielder David Bentley may have turned the corner at White Hart Lane after inspiring his team to victory over Everton in the fourth round of the League Cup.

The former Blackburn star created the first of Spurs’ goals in a 2-0 win on Tuesday which heaps more pressure on disgruntled Toffees manager David Moyes, who refused to turn up to the post-match press conference.

“His (Bentley) attitude in training has not been as good as it could have been, I’ve told him and he accepts it, but I thought he was fantastic here,” Redknapp said of his inconsistent midfielder.

“He’s a decent boy with great ability but with Aaron Lennon playing so well I think he couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

“He got the opportunity and took it with both hands. It will be very hard not to play him at the Emirates,” the ex-West Ham boss said, referring to Saturday’s north London derby with Arsenal.

“It all depends on David Bentley. It’s up to him to keep performing like that, whether he wants to stay or leave, but I want to keep him.”

Former Arsenal player Bentley was named the man-of-the-match but admitted when picking up his award that his attitude had been questionable of late, claiming that his mind had wandered away from football.

“It’s been a difficult time since I’ve been here. I’ve encountered every problem in the book and it’s just nice to get my head down now and hopefully concentrate on football,” he said.

“I just looked to enjoy myself and give 100 per cent. Sometimes my efforts have been lacking at times because I haven’t been fully focused on football.”

The 15-million-pound man had looked threatening in the early stages of Tuesday’s victory without an end product, and it was no surprise that when he found his range Spurs took the lead.

His curling ball into the box evaded everyone until it reached Tom Huddlestone at the far post, the former Derby man smashing an emphatic left-foot drive past Tim Howard in the Everton goal.

Victory was sealed by Ireland’s Robbie Keane who scrambled home a volley after Tim Howard had saved the striker’s penalty kick, inspiring the White Hart Lane faithful to believe they could make it three finals in as many years.

Redknapp admitted that the team’s performance had given him a headache after rare starters Roman Pavlyuchenko, Gareth Bale and Alan Hutton all impressed.

“Hutton worked hard and has given me a nice problem for Saturday, it’s an interesting selection problem,” he said.

“(Jonathan) Woodgate has had a scan and there’s no fracture of the cheekbone but I don’t know if he’ll be fit for the weekend. Pavlyuchenko did OK but Crouch will be available hopefully,” the former Portsmouth boss added.

Moyes was reportedly furious that his Everton team had not been given an extra day to recover after playing Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday and Bolton in the Premier League on Sunday.

His refusal to talk to the press was apparently a protest at the cup’s organisers but now his attention must turn to trying to reverse his team’s poor start to the season.

Moyes’s thin squad has been exposed by injury, particularly by those to key players Phil Jagielka and Mikel Arteta, and a third defeat in six days, including a 5-0 drubbing by Benfica, signals a mini-crisis at Goodison.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: Aaron Lennon, Alan Hutton, arsenal player, bentley, blackburn, David Bentley, David Moyes, emirates, everton, far post, foot drive, Gareth Bale, Harry Redknapp, Hart Lane, heaps, Ireland, light at the end of the tunnel, london, midfielder, Mikel Arteta, north London, Phil Jagielka, Portsmouth, pound man, premier league, Robbie Keane, spurs, tim howard, tom huddlestone, west ham, white hart lane

Martins wants to stay at Newcastle

June 12, 2009

NEWCASTLE, England (AFP) – Nigeria striker Obafemi Martins admits he would like to help Newcastle back into the Premier League, but he knows the crisis-torn club are likely to sell him.

With Newcastle managerless and up for sale after their relegation to the English Championship, it would be easy for Martins to look for an escape route from St James’ Park.

The former Inter Milan star insists he would be happy to stay but, with Arsenal and other top European clubs interested, it seems certain Newcastle will opt to cash in on his 10 million pounds valuation to soften the financial blow of relegation.

“I hope I am not sold,” Martins told the Evening Gazette: “If the club decide to sell me, I have no choice but to go. But my aim is to stay and help get Newcastle promoted next season.

“I love living in Newcastle, and there are few better places to live and play.

“I know the club is for sale and that is hard for the fans. Yet I hear there could be some light at the end of the tunnel eventually.”

Meanwhile, talks over the future ownership of Newcastle were ongoing as interested parties prepared to make their moves.

It is understood the front-runners in the race to buy out owner Mike Ashley are ready to conduct due diligence as they prepare to firm up their intention to make a formal bid.

There have been reports on Tyneside that a South African-led consortium is among the most advanced potential bidders, while former chairman Freddy Shepherd has been repeatedly mentioned.

However, sources close to the club have suggested there is strong interest from elsewhere.

Investment bankers Seymour Pierce, whose chairman Keith Harris is handling the sale, has been in contact with up to four prospective purchasers, including the Singapore-based Profitable Group, but there is still some way to go before the club could change hands.

The players are due back for pre-season training on July 1, with the Championship campaign starting in eight weeks’ time, although there is as much work to be done on the playing side as there is behind the scenes before then.

Newcastle currently have no manager – Joe Kinnear’s contract has expired and Alan Shearer was employed only for the final eight games of last season.

The 38-year-old former England striker has made no secret of his desire to take the job on a permanent basis, but the current regime has little intention of appointing either him or anyone else with several of the prospective new owners having indicated they want to take that decision themselves.